Manchester United host Tottenham Hotspur in the opening game of this weekend’s Premier League fixtures.
We are currently level on points with Mauricio Pochettino’s side and five adrift of leaders Manchester City.
Having been boosted by the news that Harry Kane will not make the trip to Old Trafford this weekend, Jose Mourinho has delivered disappointing news in that as many as six of our players could be ruled out of facing Spurs.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference today, the boss told MUTV that nobody has recovered from injury since our 2-0 win at Swansea City in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night and that Eric Bailly is only a possibility to make his return.
Mourinho said:
“Nobody is back. Jones was on the bench the other day and is okay. Bailly is a possibility.”
“We have no Zlatan Ibrahimovic, no Paul Pogba, no Marouane Fellaini, no Marcos Rojo, no Michael Carrick, so don’t speak to me about Harry Kane.”
The absence of Paul Pogba, Marouane Fellaini and Michael Carrick almost certainly means that Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera will once again start in front of the back four.
Phil Jones went off midway through the first half with an injury at Huddersfield Town last weekend. Prior to that the England international had played every minute in the Premier League this season. Should Eric Bailly not be ready to return tomorrow then Chris Smalling can be expected to partner Jones in the centre of our defence.
